Methods and systems for providing a best price guarantee

ABSTRACT

A financial institution can provide a best price guarantee to debit or credit card account holders. By providing a consolidated system including automatic price monitoring of purchased products and automatic claim form generation upon identifying a lower price, the consumer is relieved of the burden typically associated with conventional price matching. An exemplary method comprises receiving, by a server, purchase information from a financial customer, wherein the purchase information comprises a purchase price and purchased product description and wherein the customer has a credit or debit card issued by the financial institution; storing, by the server, the purchase information in a first database; locating, by the server, from a second database, stored product information corresponding to the received purchased product description, wherein the stored product information comprises a lowest price datum; comparing, by the server, the lowest price datum to the purchase price; and, if the lowest price datum is less than the purchase price, generating a claim form for the financial customer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/795,746, filed Jun. 8, 2010, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to computer-implemented methods and systems forproviding a best price guarantee to a customer of a financialinstitution.

BACKGROUND

Many retailers attempt to sell goods or services to potential customerswith a guarantee that the retailer is offering the lowest price. If thecustomer makes a purchase from the retailer and finds that a competitorof the retailer is offering the product or service at a lower price andthe customer can provide proof of the competitor's lower price, then theretailer will refund or rebate the difference between the purchase priceand the competitor's lower price. The retailer's price matching policyis an attempt to encourage prospective buyers to purchase goodsimmediately and without checking competitors for lower prices. Forpurchases from multiple retailers, a customer must visit each retailerwith proof of lower prices by competitors in an attempt to collect arefund from each retailer.

Theoretically, a retailer's price matching policy attempts to simplifycustomer purchases by allowing customers to buy any item from theretailer with customer having the security of knowing that the customeris paying the lowest price in the market for that product or service.Unfortunately, the conventional price protection program places a heavyburden on customers such that they must: (1) continually monitoradvertisements for lower prices, (2) save a qualifying advertisement asevidence of the lowest price offer, (3) bring the advertisement to theoriginal retailer, and (4) fill out a claim form with the appropriateinformation. Moreover, not all retailers offer price matching policies.There are no conventional computer systems that can track thiscomparative pricing data upon a purchase by a customer and generate arequest to pay the customer when a lower price has been identified.

A need, therefore, exits for an improved program that provides acustomer with the lowest available price, wherein the program applies toany retail item purchased by the customer, no matter which retailer soldthat item. Moreover, there is a need for a program wherein everypurchase by a customer can be automatically tracked to determine theexistence of a lower advertised price with an option to have a claimform or payment file automatically generated and provided to thecustomer in the event of a lower price offer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments described herein overcome the drawbacks ofconventional computer systems and price matching policies provided byretailers. An exemplary solution described herein comprises computersystems and computer-implemented methods that can operate moreefficiently than conventional systems and can dynamically generate andtransmit data files to achieved the desired result. Customers with acredit or debit card issued by a financial institution may use theircard to make retail purchases subject to a best price guarantee of thefinancial institution at any location. By providing the financialinstitution, or a third party associated with the financial institution,the purchase information, a customer may be guaranteed to receive arebate or refund if the price of the system identifies that the retailerlowered the price or if another retailer is offering a lower price forthat item. Other exemplary embodiments described herein provideautomatic monitoring of prices on purchased products, automatic claimform generation in the event of qualifying price decrease. Theembodiments described herein, therefore, can provide a viable option forcustomers who want to take advantage of a price matching policy, but donot otherwise have the time or energy to participate in such a program.

In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for a financialinstitution to provide a best price guarantee to customers is provided.The method comprises receiving, by a server, purchase information from afinancial customer, wherein the purchase information comprises apurchase price and purchased product description and wherein thecustomer has a credit or debit card issued by the financial institution;storing, by the server, the purchase information in a first database;locating, by the server, from a second database, stored productinformation corresponding to the received purchased product description,wherein the stored product information comprises a lowest price datum;comparing, by the server, the lowest price datum to the purchase price;and, if the lowest price datum is less than the purchase price,generating a claim form for the financial customer.

In another exemplary embodiment, a system for providing a best priceguarantee to consumers is provided comprising a server of a financialinstitution adapted to receive purchase information from a financialcustomer, wherein the purchase information comprises a purchase priceand purchased product description and wherein the customer has a creditor debit card issued by the financial institution; a first databasecommunicatively coupled to the server and adapted to store the purchaseinformation; and a second database communicatively coupled to the serverand adapted to store product information, wherein the productinformation comprises a lowest price datum; wherein the server locatesthe product information from the second database corresponding to thepurchase information located at the first database, and wherein theserver compares the lowest price datum to the purchase price, andwherein, the server generated a claim form for the financial customer ifthe lowest price is less than the purchase price.

In yet another exemplary embodiment, a computer program product,comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable programcode embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to beexecuted to implement a method for providing a refund to a customer fora lower price of a purchased product is provided. The method comprisesproviding a system, wherein the system comprises distinct softwaremodules, and wherein the distinct software modules comprise a customeridentification module, a product identification module, a priceidentification module, and a claim submission module; receiving, by thecustomer identification module, information input from the customer thatidentifies the customer; receiving, by the product identificationmodule, a description of a product purchased by the customer; comparing,by the product identification module, the description of the product toa listing of description of products to identify a matched product;identifying, by the price identification module, available prices forthe matched product within a predetermined time period; identifying, bythe price identification module, a lower price for the purchasedproduct; generating, by the claim submission module, a claim form forproviding the customer with a refund based upon the identified lowerprice, wherein the customer purchased the purchased product using acredit card or a debit card issued by a financial institution, andwherein the financial institution offers the operation of computerprogram product to the customer.

In another embodiment, a computer-implemented method comprisesreceiving, by a server of the financial institution, purchaseinformation regarding a customer who completed a transaction to purchasea product or service using a credit or debit card issued by thefinancial institution, wherein the purchase information comprises apurchase price and purchased product or service description of thepurchased product or service and an identifier of the financialcustomer's credit or debit card issued by the financial institution;storing, by the server, the purchase information in a first database;locating, by the server, from a second database, stored product orservice information corresponding to the received purchased productdescription from a completed purchase transaction, wherein the storedproduct information comprises a lowest price datum; tracking, by theserver, the lowest price datum within a predetermined time period fromthe purchase of the product or service; comparing, by the server, thelowest price datum to the purchase price; and when a difference betweenthe lowest price datum and the purchase price of the completed purchasetransaction is within the predetermined time period from the purchase ofthe product or service, generating and transmitting a data file based onthe data representing a difference between the lowest price datum andthe purchase price that initiates a payment to the customer.

In yet another embodiment, a system comprises a server of a financialinstitution adapted to receive purchase information regarding a customerwho completed a transaction to purchase a product or service using acredit or debit card issued by the financial institution, wherein thepurchase information comprises a purchase price and purchased product orservice description of the purchased product or service and anidentifier of the financial customer's credit or debit card issued bythe financial institution; a first database communicatively coupled tothe server and adapted to store the purchase information from acompleted product purchase transaction; and a second databasecommunicatively coupled to the server and adapted to store product orservice information, wherein the product information comprises a lowestprice datum; wherein the server tracks the product or serviceinformation from the second database corresponding to the purchaseinformation located at the first database within a predetermined timeperiod from the purchase of the product or service, and wherein theserver compares the lowest price datum to the purchase price, andwherein the server generates and transmits a data file based on thedifference between the lowest price datum and the purchase price for thecustomer when the lowest price is less than the purchase price withinthe predetermined time period from the purchase of the product orservice, wherein the data file initiates a payment to the customer.

In another embodiment, a computer program product, comprising a computerusable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein,the computer readable program code adapted to be executed by a processorto implement a method comprising receiving, by a customer identificationmodule of the program code executed by the processor, information inputthat identifies the customer; receiving, by a product identificationmodule of the program code executed by the processor, a productdescription of a product or service from a cellular phone of thecustomer; identifying, by the product identification module of theprogram code executed by the processor, the product based on the productor service description; identifying, by the price identification moduleof the program code executed by the processor, available prices for theidentified product or service within a predetermined time period;identifying, by the price identification module of the program codeexecuted by the processor, a lower price for the purchased product orservice; and generating, by a claim submission module of the programcode executed by the processor, a data file initiating a payment to thecustomer with a refund based upon the lower price identified during thepredetermined time period.

In yet another embodiment, a computer program product, comprising acomputer usable medium having computer readable program code embodiedtherein, the computer readable program code adapted to be executed by aprocessor to implement a method comprising receiving, by a customeridentification module of the program code executed by the processor,information input that identifies the customer; receiving, by a productidentification module of the program code executed by the processor, aproduct description of a product or service from a cellular phone of thecustomer; identifying, by the product identification module of theprogram code executed by the processor, the product based on the productor service description; identifying, by the price identification moduleof the program code executed by the processor, available prices for theidentified product or service within a predetermined time period;identifying, by the price identification module of the program codeexecuted by the processor, a lower price for the purchased product orservice; and generating, by a claim submission module of the programcode executed by the processor, a data file initiating a payment to thecustomer with a refund based upon the lower price identified during thepredetermined time period.

Additional features and advantages of an embodiment will be set forth inthe description which follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription. The objectives and other advantages of the invention willbe realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out inthe exemplary embodiments in the written description and claims hereofas well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated byway of example and not limited to the following figures:

FIG. 1 shows a system architecture according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a screen shot of a user interface according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 4 shows a screen shot of a user interface according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 5 shows a screen shot of a user interface according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a screen shot of a user interface according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 7 shows a screen shot of a user interface according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 8 shows a screen shot of a user interface according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a screen shot of a user interface according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 10 shows a screen shot of a user interface according to anexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 11 shows a screen shot of a user interface according to anexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 12 shows a screen shot of a user interface according to anexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows a screen shot of a user interface according to anexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 14 shows a flow chart of a method according to an exemplaryembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments and aspects of the invention will be described withreference to details discussed below, and the accompanying drawings willillustrate the various embodiments. The following description anddrawings are illustrative of the invention and are not to be construedas limiting the invention. Numerous specific details are described toprovide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the presentinvention. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventionaldetails are not described in order to provide a concise discussion ofembodiments of the present inventions.

Exemplary embodiments, as described below, allow a financial institution(also referred to herein as a “bank”) to offer price protection, or a“best price guarantee” to credit or debit card customers. In certainembodiments, a financial institution may offer a best price guarantee onany item purchased with a credit card, debit card, or other payment cardissued by the financial institution. The best price guarantee mayrequire minimal effort on the part of the customer, requiring only theentering of information about the purchase into the system.

For example, if a customer uses a credit card issued by a bank topurchase a specific model television from an electronics store for$2,000, that customer may be eligible for a refund under a best priceguarantee offered by the bank. First, using a customer's computer, thecustomer may enter the transaction information on to the bank's website,including such information as purchase price, date of purchase, locationof purchase, and item purchased. The transaction information may bestored by the bank on a server or other storage device. The price of thesame model television may then be automatically monitored for apredetermined time period (i.e., 30 or 60 days) by receiving price datafrom one or more external sources. At the end of the predetermined timeperiod, the system may compare the $2,000 purchase price to the lowestprice for which the same model television was offered within thatperiod. If the lowest price is less than $2,000, whether the price isoffered by the same retailer or another retailer, the system maygenerate and complete a claim form to be transmitted to the customer viasuch methods as email, mail, or download. The claim form may begenerated and populated or completed with any information stored on theserver, and may be verified by the customer. Once received, the claimform may be verified and signed by the customer. The signed claim formcan be transmitted to an entity, such as an insurance provider, whosends a payment to the customer for the difference in price between thepurchase price and lowest price.

Referring to FIG. 1, a user 110 operates an electronic device 120 a, 120b, including, but not limited to, personal computer, special purposecomputer, tablet, automated teller machine (ATM), kiosk, personaldigital assistant (PDAs), wireless device, cellular or mobile phone,tablet computer, or any other electronic device capable of processingdata to access financial products, services, or information located onservers 130 (including processors, software, etc.) and/or databases 140of a financial institution or capable of submitting information to afinancial institution over a network 160. In this exemplary embodiment,electronic device 120 a is a personal computer, and electronic device120 b is a smart phone, mobile phone, or cellular phone. The electronicdevice 120 a, 120 b can have a camera for capturing images.

Communication networks 160 include, but are not limited to, theInternet, intranets, wireless networks, Bluetooth networks, fiber opticnetworks, existing telephone networks, credit networks, and othernetworks that link the electronic device 120 a, 120 b, server 130 anddatabase 140. Additionally, at least one external product informationdatabase 150 may be communicatively coupled to the servers 130 anddatabases 140 of the financial institution. Alternatively, each of theserver 130, database 140, and database 150 can be located at the same orremote locations, and can be operated by the same or separate entities.The financial institution's server 130 and database 140 can host awebsite, maintain customer information, and/or execute at least aportion of a best price guarantee program.

The external product information database 150 may be maintained at hostsof retailer websites, hosts of online shopping websites, third partypricing services, third party insurance companies, third party serviceproviders, and the like, in order to provide pricing information. Theexternal product information database 150 can store information from aserver that collects from or searches other networked sources, such aswebsites of retailers and online product databases. Additionally, theexternal product information database 150 may be populated by manuallycollecting product information from print advertisements includingnewspapers, magazines, pamphlets and flyers, pictures of billboards,recordings of radio or television advertisements, in-storeadvertisements or any other advertisement or offer capable of beingverified and transmitted.

It will be understood that a user 110 of an electronic device 120 a, 120b can be an existing or a prospective customer of a financialinstitution, a groups of individuals, or another entity having a creditaccount, debit account, or other payment account (e.g., stored valueaccount, gift card account, reward currency account) with the financialinstitution. For example, the user can be a customer that alreadypossesses a credit card issued by the financial institution but is notyet registered for the best price guarantee service. In another example,the user can be a prospective customer who is using the best priceguarantee service on a trial basis. In yet another example, the user maybe a credit card owning customer of the financial institution who haspreviously registered for the best price guarantee service. Despite thevarious entities that can qualify as a user, the exemplary embodimentsutilize “user” and “customer” interchangeably, but a user is notintended to be limited to an existing customer.

Furthermore, it will be understood that the electronic device 120 a, 120b may be physically located at a branch of a financial organization, ata user's home or office or at any location where the device can beconnected to a network. For example, a mobile phone may access thenetwork 160 at nearly any location in world. In another embodiment, auser 110 may log on to the system using a laptop computer located at theuser's place of work.

The electronic device 120 a, 120 b can include three components: (a) aprocessing component, (b) a display component, and (c) an inputcomponent. The processing component can include a computer processornecessary for handling the computations, processing, and otherfunctionality of the device. The display can be a LCD, LED, OLED, CRT,3D or stereoscopic screens, projectors, or any other type of display.Exemplary input devices may include, for example a keyboard and mouse,touch screen, or a camera, all of which can be integrated in theelectronic device 120 a, 120 b or electrically coupled thereto.

Optional enhancements to the electronic device 120 a, 120 b can addadditional service features or maintain a secure session with the user.In certain embodiments, peripheral devices may be connected to, orintegrated in, an electronic device 120 a, 120 b to enhance a user'sexperience. The peripheral devices may be connected through the network160, though they may also be physically connected or even connected viaa different network. Exemplary peripheral devices may include digitalcameras, display devices, speakers, processors (along with software tocarry out the process), input devices, biometric devices (e.g., forfingerprints, iris scan, facial recognition, voice recognition),printers, scanners, deposit/dispense devices, card readers, barcodereaders (including QR code readers), PIN pads/electronic signaturecapture, remote camera controls, and other devices without limitation.

In one embodiment, a printer may be connected, for example, for theprinting of completed claim forms received by the financial institutionor graphical displays of the purchased product's price over time. Inanother embodiment, a scanner is present for the scanning of receipts,documents, product packaging, and the like. Additional embodimentsinclude a digital camera such that, for example, a user may take apicture of a recently purchased product, the product packaging, or areceipt from the purchase of the product or server. The picture may betransmitted via the network 160 to the server 130, where the purchasedproduct or service may be determined by the system. The camera coupledto the electronic device 120 a, 120 b can capture an image of a receipt,and the electronic device 120 a, 120 b can transmit the image forprocessing to the server 130, the electronic device 120 a, 120 b cantransmit the image of the receipt to a third party for processing, or anapplication on the electronic device 120 a, 120 b can process the imageand send the data to the server 130.

In yet another example, a barcode reader is connected to the electronicdevice 120 a, 120 b to allow a user 110 to scan a barcode located onpurchased product packaging into the system. The barcode reader may be acamera of the electronic device 120 a, 120 b that is used to capture animage of the barcode, process the image using an application on theelectronic device 120 a, 120 b to determine what barcode was scanned,and generate and transmit a data file that identifies the barcode thatwas scanned. The application on the electronic device may be a thin orthick client, whereby the application can transmit the image to theserver 130, and the server 130 can identify the product by processingthe image of the barcode.

A merchant server 170 can be communicatively coupled to the network 160for communicating with the server 130. The merchant server 170 can beassociated with the point of sale system of the merchant (not shown),which may include at least one point of sale terminal and a databasethat stores purchase information, customer information, product andservice information, and store information. Upon completing atransaction between the customer and the merchant, the merchant server170 can be configured to identify those accounts on a batch orindividual basis that are associated with the financial institutionserver 130. In one example, this determination can be performed by themerchant server 170 identifying the account number as being associatedwith the financial institution. In another example, this determinationcan be performed by the merchant server 170 by identifying the first fewdigits (e.g., four or six digits or using the bank identificationnumber) of the payment card account. The merchant server 170automatically generates a data file comprising purchase information tobe transmitted to the server 130 only for those purchases having theparticular accounts associated with the financial institution server130. These accounts can be selected because they are accounts of thefinancial institution. Alternatively, these accounts can be selectedbecause they have been predetermined and identified in a record as beingassociated with a program described herein.

An underwriter server 180 can be communicatively coupled to the network160 and/or directly coupled to the server 130. The underwriter server180 can be associated with an underwriter or insurer. The underwriterserver 180 is configured to receive a data file generated by the server130 that has information about the purchase. The data file can includeinformation about the purchase, where the purchase was conducted, price,customer data, and information about the lower price (e.g., where thelower price is offered, date of the offer, and any terms associated withthat price). The underwriter server 180 can verify or confirminformation in the data file and then generate a request for payment tothe customer for the difference between the lowest price in thepredetermined time period and the purchase price. The generated paymentrequest is transmitted to a payment processor server (not shown).

The server 130 is a specially-programmed computer that comprises anon-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer programinstructions that are executed by a processor to perform thefunctionality described herein. In an exemplary embodiment, the server130 comprises a customer identification module, a product identificationmodule, and a claim submission module. In one example, the server 130 isconfigured to receive, by a customer identification module of theprogram code executed by the processor, information input thatidentifies the customer; receive, by a product identification module ofthe program code executed by the processor, a product description of aproduct or service from a cellular phone of the customer; identify, bythe product identification module of the program code executed by theprocessor, the product based on the product or service description;identify, by the price identification module of the program codeexecuted by the processor, available prices for the identified productor service within a predetermined time period; identify, by the priceidentification module of the program code executed by the processor, alower price for the purchased product or service; and generate, by aclaim submission module of the program code executed by the processor, adata file initiating a payment to the customer with a refund based uponthe lower price identified during the predetermined time period.

In another example, the server 130 is configured to receive, by acustomer identification module of the program code executed by theprocessor, information input that identifies the customer; receive, by aproduct identification module of the program code executed by theprocessor, a product description of a product or service from a cellularphone of the customer; identifying, by the product identification moduleof the program code executed by the processor, the product based on theproduct or service description; identify, by the price identificationmodule of the program code executed by the processor, available pricesfor the identified product or service within a predetermined timeperiod; identify, by the price identification module of the program codeexecuted by the processor, a lower price for the purchased product orservice; and generate, by a claim submission module of the program codeexecuted by the processor, a data file initiating a payment to thecustomer with a refund based upon the lower price identified during thepredetermined time period.

Referring to FIG. 2, an exemplary method for a financial institution toprovide a best price guarantee to a user is shown. It is intended thatthe exemplary method depicted in FIG. 2 may be executed in a variousways, and the following description should not be limited to aparticular order. In this exemplary embodiment, a user may access awebsite to instruct a program operated by a financial institution'sserver that stores information related to purchases made with a creditor debit card issued by the financial institution. In the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 2, the user has a credit card account with thefinancial institution, and credit card account includes the best priceguarantee feature. Additionally, the user has created a username andpassword to access account information such as claim eligibility onpreviously purchased products and claim history. In an alternativeembodiment, the user may be an account holder at the financialinstitution, but may be a first-time user of the best price guaranteeservice. As a result, the user may be required to register with theservice before submitting any requests.

At 210, a user accesses the website using a personal computer and entersidentification information. The identification information may includeany information that identifies and verifies the user to the financialinstitution or affiliated service, such as the user's name, address,phone number, social security number, account number, pin number, age,sex, race, ethnicity, username, password, or biometric information. Ifthe user is logging into the system for the first time, the system mayrequire the user to provide a username and password. If the user hasalready established a username/password combination, the user may enterthe information at a sign-on screen. Additionally, the system may promptthe user to store the username and password either locally or on anetwork server. In an alternative embodiment, the attached peripheraldevices may be used to recognize and authenticate the user, includingbiometric mechanisms, such as facial recognition, retina scan, voicerecognition, or a fingerprint scan.

At 220, the identification information is sent over the network by theuser's personal computer and received by the financial institution'sserver. In one embodiment, the identification information is stored, forexample, locally on the personal computer. Alternatively, theidentification information can be stored on the server. Once stored, theidentification information may be accessed by a program executed by aserver to automatically complete documents or display information to theuser. For example, if the program determines that the user is entitledto refund based on a drop in price since the date of purchase, theprogram may use the entered identification information, such as theuser's name and address, to populate a claim form. It should beappreciated that identification information may be sent and received viaa secure connection over the network.

Referring to 230, the user enters transaction information for apreviously purchased item into the program. The transaction informationcan include a description of the product purchased, a price paid for theproduct, a date the product was purchased, a retailer from which theproduct was purchased, an address of the retailer, and/or a receiptnumber. The description of the product may include a model number, modelname, serial number, product code, product key, product name, UPC, brandname, or any other information that may identify the product purchasedto the system. In one embodiment, the transaction information may beentered into the program using an input device, such as a keyboard orkeypad. In an alternative embodiment, the UPC code may be scanned by theuser with an attached barcode scanner or digital camera containingappropriate software. In yet another embodiment, the user may scan thereceipt listing the purchased product or take a picture of the sameusing a digital camera. In another embodiment, the user may send adigital picture of the product itself.

At 240, once the user enters transaction information for a previouslypurchased item, the transaction information may be sent over the networkand stored on the server in, for example, a purchased products database.The purchased products database may contain transaction informationcorresponding to any number of purchased products entered by the user.For example, a user may enter transaction information for both atelevision and microwave purchased the week before. It will beunderstood that the purchased products database and the transactioninformation contained therein may be accessed by the server toautomatically generate and populate documents such as productinformation pages and claim forms.

At 250, the user-entered transaction information may be compared toproduct information stored on a server in, for example, a productinformation database, to attempt to match the purchased product with adata representation of that product stored in the system. In oneembodiment, the product information database may be populated withinformation about any number of products including, but not limited to,antiques, art, books, electronics, motor vehicles, clothing, toys,entertainment items, health and beauty items, home and garden products,jewelry, music products, live stock, real estate, specialty services,sporting goods, memorabilia and collectables, tickets, travel, and anyother item, product or service.

The product information database may be created by collecting andstoring information from any number of external sources, such as, forexample, retailer websites, price comparison websites or services,in-store pricing, and any/all forms of advertisements. It will beunderstood that, although the product information database is describedabove in the singular, any number of databases may be used to store theproduct information, including a separate database for each product.Moreover, the product information database may be located external tothe financial institution at, for example, a third party host or vendor.

As an example, the product information database may be populated withpricing and availability information regarding a specific model oflaptop computer by implementing a program to automatically search anynumber of electronic retailer websites for pricing information aboutthat particular model. The search results, including offer prices, maythen be stored in the product information database. As another example,the data may be manually entered by an employee who visits physicallocations of retail stores or searches through printed publications. Inyet another example, the user may submit an advertisement for the samemodel laptop computer found in her local newspaper or a magazine. Thedatabase can then be updated with the submitted information.

Once the transaction information is sent to the server, the purchasedproduct information contained therein may be automatically compared tothe product information database to determine if there is a productmatch. Although it will be recognized that there are many ways ofmatching data, in a preferred embodiment, the UPC code of the purchasedproduct is compared to the product database to determine if they areidentical. In another embodiment, if the user has provided a scannedreceipt, the receipt may be read, and the product code may be obtainedtherefrom. If the product code corresponds to a product located withinthe product information database, the system determines that a match hasbeen made.

Once a match is determined, the product may be associated with or linkedto the user's account 260. In this way, the user may access information,such as pricing information, located in the product information databaseto determine if a lower price has been found for the purchased product.For example, a user who purchases a watch may enter a description of thewatch, such as the name brand and model type, into the best priceguarantee program. Once the program determines a match in the productinformation database, the watch may be linked to the user's profile forconvenient monitoring of price. In this example, the user may log intoher account, click an icon of the watch or textual link, and immediatelysee if a lower price is available.

Alternatively, if a match cannot be determined, the user may be promptedto enter additional information about the purchased product. If a matchstill cannot be determined, the user may submit a form to request that aparticular product be added to the product information database.

At 270, the product information database may be updated with pricing andavailability information for each product. In one embodiment, theproduct information database may be updated in real-time or nearreal-time as new information is searched and received from externalsources. In other embodiments, the product information database may beupdated at predetermined time intervals. The predetermined timeintervals can be based on any time measurement, such as one minute, onehour, one day, one week, two weeks, one month, or every three months. Asthe product information database is updated, the user may view theproduct information for any purchased product linked to the user'saccount. For example, if the user's account is linked to a particularmodel television and a particular model toaster, the user would be ableto view up-to-date information about either of those products,including, but not limited to, the lowest price either product wasoffered for sale since the purchase date. Because of the periodic reviewof external sources, the user may have access to lower price informationin substantially real-time.

In another embodiment, the user may search for and view the productinformation for any product, even if the user has not purchased thatproduct. Using this feature, the user could view past price fluctuationsin order to make a more educated purchase.

At 280, the system compares the lowest price at which the linked producthas been offered since the date of purchase to the purchase priceentered by the user. In one embodiment, if the lowest price offered islower than the purchase price by any amount, the user may be entitled toa refund of the price difference. For example, if the user purchased aspecific model of computer for $500, and the same model computer isoffered for $475 the next week, the user may be entitled to a refund.The system can automatically notify the user via, for example, textmessage, email or phone, that a refund may be available. Alternatively,the user could view the product information by logging into the user'saccount and selecting the linked product.

In another embodiment, if the lowest price offered is lower than thepurchase price by more than a predetermined amount, the user may beentitled to a refund of the price difference. It will be understood thatthe predetermined amount may be any amount agreed upon by the user andthe financial institution or any amount imposed by the financialinstitution. For example, if a user is only entitled to a refund whenthe price drops by $30, a user who buys a certain model computer for$500 will not be eligible for a refund, and thus will not be notified,if that product drops to $475. In another example, the predeterminedamount can be a percentage of the purchase price, such as 5% or 10%. Inyet another example, the predetermined amount can vary (either anincrease or decrease) as the purchase price increases. In still yetanother example, the predetermined amount can depend upon a user'sclassification within the financial institution, e.g., a gold account, aplatinum account, or a business account. In another embodiment, theremay no restrictions on when a refund is offered, as long as the lowestprice is less than the purchase price and the lowest price is identifiedas being offered during a predetermined time period.

In another embodiment, the user may only be entitled to a refund if alower price is identified within a predetermined period of time from thedate of purchase. As an example, if the predetermined period of time is30 days, a user who buys a certain model computer for $500 on January1st would not be entitled to a refund unless the product was offered fora lower price within a 30 day period. If, for example, the priceremained above $500 until February 15th, the user would not be entitledto a refund if the price dropped to $475 on this date. It will beunderstood that the predetermined period of time may be any period oftime agreed upon by the user and the financial institution or imposed bythe financial institution, such as one week, two weeks, three weeks, onemonth, two months, or three months.

At 290, upon the expiration of a predetermined period of time, thesystem can prompt the user to confirm information. If the system hasidentified a lower price for the product, then the system may requirethe user to verify information and/or confirm that the user would liketo generate a claim form to obtain a refund. The prompt can be anotification on the financial institution's website, an e-mail messageto the user, an automated telephone call, or any other notificationmethod.

At 295, the system automatically generates and completes a claim formhaving fields for personal information, rebate information, purchaseinformation and the like. The claim form may be customized to aparticular entity's requirements, and the server may store any number oftemplates for use in generating specific claim forms. In one embodiment,the server may generate a default claim form based on a default entity'sspecifications. In an alternative embodiment, the user may select theparticular entity to which she will send the claim form to obtain therefund.

Irrespective of the format of the claim form generated, the form may becompleted with information from both the product information databaseand the transaction information entered by the user. Alternatively, ifall the required information is not stored on the system, the user maybe prompted to enter additional information. The user may also beprompted to verify the veracity of the information before the claim formis completed by clicking a link, button, or icon after reviewing theinformation.

In one embodiment, the completed claim form may be transmitted to theuser by any appropriate means including, but not limited to, email,mail, fax, digital medium, or by providing a linked file capable ofbeing downloaded by the user. Once the user obtains the completed claimform, she may sign it and transmit it to an entity using any agreeablemeans.

Alternatively, information about the product or service in a purchasecan be transmitted from the electronic device without requiring thecustomer to type the purchase information details into the electronicdevice. The customer can log into the system associated with thefinancial institution server, so information uploaded or transmittedfrom the customer, merchant, or other source can be associated with thatparticular customer. Upon the server receiving receipt information fromthe customer or merchant, the server can associate the transaction witha particular product or service without the need to request that thecustomer identify the product or service purchased. Optionally, however,the server can request that the customer confirm the identified productor service from the transaction.

In one embodiment, an electronic device is used to capture an image of areceipt of the purchase of a product or service. When a receipt isprinted by a point of sale terminal at a merchant, a camera of theelectronic device can capture an image of the receipt. This image may becaptured at the point of sale or at a later date. A receipt oftencontains information such as a date of purchase, at least a portion of apayment card number used in that purchase, a listing of each product orservice purchased by name or SKU number, and a price for each purchasedproduct or service.

The server can obtain the information from the image in various ways. Ina first embodiment, the electronic device has an application that isconfigured to perform optical character recognition of the receipt andextract the information from the receipt. The application generates adata file containing this information. The electronic device transmitsthis data file with the information from the receipt to the server. Theserver receives this data file, extracts the receipt information fromthe data file, and stores the receipt information in the database in arecord associated with the customer. Alternatively, the server canreceive the image, perform the optical character recognition, extractthe receipt information, and store it in a record associated with thecustomer. In some instances, when the image is unclear or illegible, agraphical user interface (e.g., a web page) may request that thecustomer indicate a portion of the receipt that contains particularinformation (e.g., upon a prompt of “where is the date of purchase?”) orassist the server in recognizing a character. The electronic device canbe used to highlight a portion of the receipt or to receive an input ofthe requested information.

In a second embodiment of how the server can obtain the information fromthe image of the receipt, the electronic device can capture the image ofthe receipt and transmit it to a third party server, who can process theimage to extract the receipt information (e.g., using optical characterrecognition). The third party server will automatically perform thisextraction upon receipt from the electronic device and thenautomatically generate a data file for transmission to the financialinstitution server with the extracted receipt information.

In another example, the merchant server can transmit the purchaseinformation to the financial institution server. The merchant's point ofsale system stores information about the purchase, which includesinformation printed on the receipt. The merchant server can query adatabase for a listing of account numbers or portions of account numbersassociated with the financial institution and then identify the recordsof the recent purchases that have those account numbers. Alternatively,the merchant server can store a listing of account numbers associatedwith the financial institution or associated with this rebate program,and the merchant server can identify the transactions associated withthose account numbers. The identification of the accounts can occur as atransaction is completed or on a periodic basis (e.g., hourly, daily,weekly, monthly). The merchant server will then transmit the purchaseinformation to the financial institution server, where the purchaseinformation can include an identification of the product or servicepurchased. As a result, the customer will not be required to inputinformation about the product or service or otherwise identify theproduct or service. Once the server has the information about theproduct or service, the server can monitor and track prices associatedwith that product or service.

Referring to FIG. 14, a flow chart illustrates various methods that thefinancial institution server can receive product or service information.In step 1410, the server can receive product or service information froma merchant server. In step 1420, an image of a receipt is received froma customer's electronic device. In step 1430, the server extractsreceipt information from the image of the receipt. In step 1440, theserver receives product or service information from receipt based onimage of receipt captured by customer's electronic device. In step 1450,the server receives product or service information based on scan ofbarcode by customer's electronic device. In step 1460, the serverreceives a barcode scanned by customer's electronic device. In step1470, the server determines the product or service associated with thebarcode. In step 1480, the server associates the product or serviceinformation with record of customer in a database. In step 1490, theserver identifies prices of the product or service during apredetermined time period.

Referring to FIG. 3, a screenshot of a user interface according to anexemplary embodiment is shown. In this particular embodiment, a user ofa computer, or any other electronic device capable of accessing theinternet, has navigated to a financial institution's website. Thewebpage shown may be considered a “welcome screen,” and may explain to auser the details of a best price guarantee. The user may be an existingcustomer of the financial institution or may be a potential customer. Ifthe user is an existing customer of the financial institution, the usermay be a registered user of the best price guarantee service or anunregistered user of the service. In the former case, the user may entera previously created username and password at a sign in prompt 310 toaccess the service. If a user is not a registered user of the service,the user may click the “Register Now” button, icon, or link 320 tocreate a username and password.

Referring to FIG. 4, a screenshot of a registration screen according toan exemplary embodiment is shown. An unregistered customer of thefinancial institution may be required to register for the best priceguarantee service before being able to access the features thereof. Toregister, the user may enter a desired username and password 410. If theentered username is available, and both the username and password 410conform to any program requirements, the username may be assigned to theuser and an account may be created and linked to that username.Additionally, the unregistered user may be prompted to enter personalinformation 420 such as, first name, last name, street address, city,state, daytime phone, and an email address. Once the user has completedthe required fields, the user may select the “Register” button, icon, orlink 430 to have an account created and stored on the server.

In one embodiment, the personal information 420 may be stored on aserver and accessed by the best price guarantee program. For example, ifa user is eligible for a refund due to an identification of a retailerwith a lower price for the purchased item, the program may use thepersonal information 420 to complete a claim form. In anotherembodiment, the personal information may be stored locally on a user'spersonal computer or other electronic device.

At FIG. 5, a screen shot of an exemplary embodiment of a confirmationpage is shown. In this particular embodiment, the user has completed theregistration process by, for example, entering the requested personalinformation and selecting a username and password. The user's personalinformation 530 may be displayed for verification purposes.Additionally, the user may be provided with an option to either “Go toMy Home Page” 510 or “Edit Profile” 520. If the user selects the “EditProfile” button, icon, or link 520, the user may be directed to awebpage where the user may edit such information as personal information530 and the user's password. If the user selects the “Go to My HomePage” button, icon, or line 510, the user may be directed to a webpageor homepage with additional options, such as the webpage shown in FIG.6.

Referring to FIG. 6, a screenshot of a homepage for submitting ortracking a claim according to an exemplary embodiment is shown. Asshown, a number of windows may be displayed within the homepage toprovide information to the user. The windows include, but are notlimited to, a Price Tracker window 605, a New Search window 630, and anEligible Claims window 640. It will be appreciated that, although shownas three separate windows, any number of windows may be displayed to theuser. In certain embodiments, the user or the financial institution maycustomize the windows, including the location of each window and theinformation displayed in each window. In other embodiments, the user orthe financial institution may choose from a number of possible windowtemplates, themes, or skins and may create additional windows dependingon preference.

In one embodiment, a Price Tracker window 605 displays a list ofpreviously purchased items, which have been entered into the system bythe user and linked to the user's account. As shown, multiple purchaseditems may be entered into the system and simultaneously tracked at thesame time. In one embodiment, the purchase date 610, product name 615,status 620, and hyperlinks to any available details 625 may be displayedto the user. The purchased products may be displayed according to anyorder selected by the user. In one embodiment, the purchased productsare displayed according to purchase date 610 by default.

With regard to the purchase date 610 and the product name 615, the datamay be entered by the user and stored on the server. For example, theuser in this exemplary embodiment has previously purchased a “Canon EOSRebel XS” on Apr. 1, 2010 and has entered this information into thesystem. Additionally, the user purchased an “iPod Touch 32 GB” on Feb.28, 2010 and has also entered this information into the system.

The Status information 620 corresponding to each listed purchasedproduct may reflect the status of the search for a price lower than thepurchase price. If the program has not found a lower price, the status620 may be reflected as, for example, “still tracking.” In thissituation, the system may continue to look for a lower price until alower price is found and/or a predetermined period of time extendingfrom the purchase date expires. As an example, that the product name 615identified as a “Canon EOS Rebel XS” has a purchase date 610 of Apr. 1,2010 and reflects a status 620 of “still tracking.” If the system findsa lower price for this purchased product, the status 620 may change from“still tracking” to, for example, “eligible for a claim.” If, however,the system is unable to find a lower price before the expiration of apredetermined period of time, the status 620 may change from “stilltracking” to, for example, “not eligible for claim.” It will beappreciated that any text, symbol, icon, or character may be displayedin the status 620 column.

In one embodiment, if the status 620 is reflected as, for example,“eligible for a claim,” the user may immediately instruct the program togenerate a claim form to secure a refund of the price difference betweenthe lower price and the purchase price. In another embodiment, the usermay wait until the expiration of a predetermined time period extendingfrom the date of purchase to request a claim form. If the user decidesto wait until after the time period expires, then the financialinstitution may implement an additional time period to submit a claimform. In yet another embodiment, the user may request a first claim formupon a first indication of a lower price and then request a second claimform upon a second indication of an even lower price before theexpiration of a predetermined time period. Although described as a“first claim form” and “second claim form,” it will be recognized thatany number of claim forms may be requested depending on how often theprice of the purchased product drops before the expiration of thepredetermined time period.

Further, a Price Tracker window 630 may be displayed to a user wherein adata entry field 635 provides the user with an opportunity to enter adescription of a purchased product. As discussed above, the productdescription may include a model number, model name, serial number,product code, product key, product name, UPC, brand name or any otherinformation that may identify the product purchased. In one embodiment,the transaction information may be entered into the program using aninput device, such as a keyboard or keypad. In another embodiment, theUPC code may be scanned by the user with a barcode scanner or digitalcamera containing appropriate software. The scanned information may thenbe entered into the data entry field 635. In yet another embodiment, theuser may scan the receipt listing the purchased product or take apicture of the same using a digital camera. The receipt information maythen be uploaded and entered into the data entry field 635 according toany means, such as optical character recognition. In one exemplaryembodiment, the user may take a digital picture of the product itself tobe uploaded to the system. The system may then compare the image to anyimages stored on a server connected to the network, for example, withina product information database.

As shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 6, a graphical userinterface may display an Eligible Claim window 640 with an option toverify a claim 645. The Eligible Claim window 640 may display anotification to a user that the system has found at least one of theuser's purchased products for a price lower than the purchase price, andas such, the user is entitled to a refund equal to the price difference.In one embodiment, the user may be eligible for a rebate at any timeafter purchasing a product, as long as the system has identified a lowerprice of the product as compared to the purchase price. In analternative embodiment, the user may not be eligible to collect a refunduntil a predetermined period of time, such as 30 or 60 days, hasexpired. In yet another embodiment, a user may not be eligible tocollect a refund in the event of an identification of a lower price,unless the difference in price between the new, lower offer and thepurchase price is above a certain predetermined amount.

In certain embodiments, once an Eligible Claim window 640 is displayed,a user may click on the “verify claim” button, icon, or link 645 to betransferred to a new webpage, which may display relevant information tobe used in completing a claim form. Once at the new webpage, the usermay verify the veracity of the information before the claim form iscompleted.

Referring to FIG. 7, a screenshot of a user interface according to anexemplary embodiment is shown. The user may enter a description of thepurchased product, e.g., UPC code or product name, within the data entryfield 710 in order to allow the system to match or correlate thepurchased product to a product stored on the system in, for example, aproduct information database. In one embodiment, an auto-completefeature is provided, wherein an exemplary description 720 may beautomatically displayed to the user based on the data entered within theentry field 710. For example, if a user begins typing a productdescription by entering a phrase such as “baseball bat,” a number ofspecific models of baseball bats and baseball bat images stored in theproduct information database may be automatically displayed to the userfor selection. In another embodiment, the exemplary description 720 maybe static or may not be displayed at all.

Referring to FIG. 8, a screenshot of a user interface according to anexemplary embodiment is shown. Once a user has entered a description ofa purchased product, the system may attempt to match or correlate thedescription to a particular product that is eligible for tracking and isstored in the system. In one embodiment, the matching or correlationprocess may produce multiple potential matches 830 depending on thespecificity of the product description entered. For example, if a userenters the phrase “washing machine” in the product description, manymore results may be returned than if the user entered the UPC code of aspecific washing machine model. In another example, if the user enters“Whirlpool Duet WFW9150WW,” then the system may present options limitedonly to that specific model as it is identified in the database.

In one embodiment, the user may be provided with an option to narrow thesearch results 820 by including limitations such as, for example, thebrand name of the purchased product or the price range within which thepurchase price is located. In certain embodiments, images or videos ofeach potentially matching product 830 may be displayed to the user tofacilitate the choice of the actual product purchased. If any of thedisplayed products 830 correspond to the actual purchased product, theuser may select that product to be linked to her account.

Referring to FIG. 9, once the purchased product 950 is selected, theuser may be prompted to enter the details of the purchase, ortransaction information, including but not limited to, the date ofpurchase 910, the purchase price 920, and the name of the retailer fromwhich the product was purchased 930. In the exemplary embodiment shownin FIG. 9, the user has purchased a “Whirlpool WFW9150WW Duet 4.0 cu.ft. Front Load White Washer” on Mar. 30, 2010. The product was purchasedfor $699.98 at “Yale Appliance.” Having entered the requestedinformation, the user may save the information to the server by clickingthe “save” button, icon, or link 940. Once this information is storedonto a database, it may be accessed by a server to determine refundeligibility and/or to complete electronic documents such as claim formsand correspondences.

At FIG. 10, a screenshot of an exemplary embodiment is shown wherein alist of user-entered purchased products is displayed. In certainembodiments, the user may enter any number of purchased products to betracked, and each product may be displayed in a list view. In oneembodiment, the list view includes, for example, status information1010, the purchased product name 1020, the date of purchase 1030, thepurchase price 1040, the lowest price found to date 1050, the differencebetween the purchase price and the lowest price to date (“best priceguarantee savings”) 1060, the best price guarantee end date 1070, thelast date to submit a claim 1080, and any available actions 1090 aredisplayed to the user. In one embodiment, the purchased product name1020, the date of purchase 1030 and the purchase price 1040 may beentered by the user. In another embodiment, the best price guarantee enddate 1070 may relate to a predetermined time period calculated from thepurchase date 1030. Once the best price guarantee end date 1070 arrives,the system may terminate the search for lower prices on the purchaseditem and the lowest price will be static.

In yet another embodiment, the last date to submit a claim 1080 may bethe same date as the best price guarantee end date 1070 or any timeafter, as determined by an agreement between the financial institutionand a third party, such as an insurance provider or a second financialinstitution. For example, an insurance provider may enter into anagreement with the financial institution to provide a refund equal toany amount of the difference between the purchase price 1040 and thelowest price identified 1050. Once an agreement is established, theinsurance provider may agree to accept claims for a certain period oftime after the best price guarantee end date 1070, for example, up toone week, two weeks, one month, two months, or any other chosen timeperiod.

Referring to FIG. 11, a screenshot of an exemplary embodiment is shownwherein the details of a search for a price that is lower than thepurchase price may be displayed to a user. As shown, a graphicalrepresentation 1110 of the price of the purchase product over a timeperiod may be displayed. The graphical representation may be annotated1120 to show, for example, the lowest price at which the purchasedproduct was offered or advertised and the date of the lowest priceoffering or advertisement.

In one embodiment, the lowest price may be dependent upon a particulargeographic area or areas. For example, the lowest price may only includequalifying prices obtained from advertisements that are obtained from,or published within, a certain city, town, village, county, state, orcountry. Alternatively, the lowest price may be determined withoutregard to geographic area.

In another embodiment, the lowest price may be determined by enteringacquired advertised prices into the system. Each advertised price may becompared to the lowest price. When an advertised price is less than thelowest price, the lowest price may be reset to the advertised price andstored on the server. If the new lowest price is less than the purchaseprice, the user may be notified, and the option to complete a claim formmay be made available to the user. In yet another embodiment, advertisedprices may be manually compared to the lowest price, and the lowestprice may be manually adjusted upon the finding of a lower advertisedprice. In certain embodiments where the lowest price may be dependentupon geographic area or areas, the advertised price may only be comparedto the lowest price if the advertised price is obtained from, orpublished in, at least one qualifying geographic area.

In yet another embodiment, the lowest price may be dependent upon aparticular set of qualifications for retailers. For example, the lowestprice may only include prices obtained from advertisements that areobtained from or published by a certain type of retailer. Thequalifications of each retailer may be based on any number of variables,such as the size of the retailer or the reputation of the retailer.

Referring still to FIG. 11, the retailer 1130 at which the lowest pricewas identified may also be displayed to the user along with the savings1140 realized by the user. The savings 1140 realized may be equal to thedifference between the purchase price and the lowest price.

In certain embodiments, a “start claim form” button, link, or icon 1150may be displayed to the user. By clicking or otherwise selecting the“start claim form” button 1150, the user may be directed to a webpage toverify any previously entered information. Alternatively, the selectionof the “start claim form” button 1150 may automatically generate acompleted claim form without any additional input by the user. Incertain embodiments, the deadline by which the claim form must be sent1160 may also be displayed to the user.

Referring to the screenshot of an exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 12,the user has selected a “start claim form” button, and has beentransferred to an exemplary webpage for verification of information. Theuser's personal information 1230, previously entered transactionalinformation 1240, the results of the best price guarantee search 1250,and any combination thereof may be displayed to a user for review andverification. If the information displayed is accurate, the user mayselect, for example, the “this information is correct” button, link, oricon 1220. If, however, any of the information displayed is incorrect,the user may select the appropriate link to edit the errant data 1210.Once the information is correct, and the user has verified theinformation by selecting the “this information is correct” button 1220,the user may select, for example, the “print” button, icon, or link 1260to have a claim form automatically generated and completed by thesystem.

In one embodiment, the user is presented with an additional option toselect the company or entity to which the claim form will be ultimatelysubmitted (not shown). Depending on the company or entity selected, thesystem may generate a claim form with a layout or format that isspecifically tailored to be accepted by the selected company or entity.The system may store the different claim forms, allow users to uploadclaim forms, or contain the ability to automatically search for anddownload the claim form templates. In another embodiment, the claim formmay be transmitted from the selected entity through a network.

As an example, if the user will be submitting the form to a particularinsurance company, the user may select that company from a providedlist. The particular claim form used by the selected company could thenbe accessed on the system, and displayed to a user upon the selection ofthe “print” button 1220.

Once the claim form is generated, it may be automatically completedusing the personal information 1230, previously entered transactionalinformation 1240, the results of the best price guarantee search 1250,and any/or combination thereof. The generated and completed claim formmay then be transmitted to the user by, for example, email, mail, fax,or download.

Referring to FIG. 13, a screenshot of an exemplary embodiment is shownwherein a completed claim form 1310 is displayed to the user. As can beseen, the completed claim form may be assigned a claim number 1320. Theclaim number 1320 may comprise any alpha-numeric combination. Thecompleted claim form 1310 and corresponding claim number 1320 may bestored on the server in, for example, a claim form database. Oncestored, the completed claim form 1310 may be accessed by entering thecorresponding claim number 1320 into a search field 1330. Additionally,by accessing the completed claim form 1310, the user may, for example,print the claim form or download the claim form to her computer.

The user can verify and sign the claim form. The signed claim form canbe submitted to the financial institution or another entity, such as aninsurance company, who will process the claim for providing payment tothe user. In an alternative embodiment, the claim form can beautomatically generated and submitted for payment when a lower price isidentified. The automatic submission can occur upon finding the lowerprice, at the expiration of a predetermined period, or any other time.

In an alternative embodiment, the server can process a payment of arefund without generating a claim form. Upon identifying that there is alower price for the purchased product or service within a predeterminedtime period, the server will generate a file that contains a differencebetween the purchase price and the lowest price, a customer's accountinformation, and other purchase information (e.g., product or servicepurchased, date of purchase, merchant or retailer). The server transmitsthe file to a server of an underwriter or insurer to initiate thepayment process. The underwriter server can validate the information(e.g., confirm that a credit card of the financial institution was usedin the purchase, confirm that the customer has not already received arefund, or confirm that the lowest price is associated with thepurchased product or service) before generating a payment request. Theunderwriter then generates a payment request and transmits it to apayment processor server for processing.

Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the followingdiscussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description,discussions utilizing terms such as “matching” or “computing” or“calculating” or “determining” or “displaying” or “comparing” or thelike, can refer to the action and processes of a data processing system,or similar electronic device, that manipulates and transforms datarepresented as physical (electronic) quantities within the system'sregisters and memories into other data similarly represented as physicalquantities within the system's memories or registers or other suchinformation storage, transmission or display devices.

In implementing these systems and methods to be performed by a suitablyprogrammed computer, it is intended that the computer have a processorand a computer readable medium, wherein the computer readable medium hasprogram code. The program code can be made of one or more modules thatcarry out instructions for implementing the systems and methods herein.The processor can execute the instructions as programmed in the modulesof the program code.

The systems and methods described can be implemented as a computerprogram product having a computer readable medium having a computerreadable program code embodied therein, the computer readable programcode adapted to be executed to implement a method for performing themethods described above. Each step or aspect can be performed by adifferent module, or a single module can perform more than a singlestep.

The exemplary embodiments can relate to an apparatus for performing oneor more of the functions described herein. This apparatus may bespecially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise acomputer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer programstored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in amachine (e.g. computer) readable storage medium, such as, but is notlimited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks,CD-ROMs and magnetic-optical disks, read only memories (ROMs), randomaccess memories (RAMs) erasable programmable ROMs (EPROMs), electricallyerasable programmable ROMs (EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards, or anytype of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and eachcoupled to a bus.

The exemplary embodiments described herein are described as softwareexecuted on at least one server, though it is understood thatembodiments can be configured in other ways and retain functionality.The embodiments can be implemented on known devices such as a personalcomputer, a special purpose computer, cellular telephone, personaldigital assistant (“PDA”), a digital camera, a digital tablet, anelectronic gaming system, a programmed microprocessor or microcontrollerand peripheral integrated circuit element(s), and ASIC or otherintegrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a hard-wired electronicor logic circuit such as a discrete element circuit, a programmablelogic device such as a PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL, or the like. In general, anydevice capable of implementing the processes described herein can beused to implement the systems and techniques according to thisinvention.

It is to be appreciated that the various components of the technologycan be located at distant portions of a distributed network and/or theInternet, or within a dedicated secure, unsecured and/or encryptedsystem. Thus, it should be appreciated that the components of the systemcan be combined into one or more devices or co-located on a particularnode of a distributed network, such as a telecommunications network. Aswill be appreciated from the description, and for reasons ofcomputational efficiency, the components of the system can be arrangedat any location within a distributed network without affecting theoperation of the system. Moreover, the components could be embedded in adedicated machine.

Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the various links connectingthe elements can be wired or wireless links, or any combination thereof,or any other known or later developed element(s) that is capable ofsupplying and/or communicating data to and from the connected elements.The term module as used herein can refer to any known or later developedhardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof that is capable ofperforming the functionality associated with that element. The termsdetermine, calculate and compute, and variations thereof, as used hereinare used interchangeably and include any type of methodology, process,mathematical operation or technique.

The embodiments described above are intended to be exemplary. Oneskilled in the art recognizes that there are numerous alternativecomponents and embodiments that may be substituted for or included inthe particular examples described herein and such additions orsubstitutions still fall within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:receiving, by a server of a financial institution, purchase informationregarding a customer who completed a transaction with any merchant,wherein the purchase information comprises a purchase price andpurchased product or service description of the purchased product orservice and an identifier of the financial institution's customer'scredit or debit card issued by the financial institution; storing, bythe server, the purchase information in a first database; locating, bythe server, from a second database, stored product or serviceinformation corresponding to the received purchased product descriptionfrom a completed purchase transaction, wherein the stored productinformation comprises a lowest price datum; tracking, by the server ofthe financial institution, the lowest price datum within a predeterminedtime period from the purchase of the product or service; comparing, bythe server, the lowest price datum to the purchase price; and when adifference between the lowest price datum and the purchase price of thecompleted purchase transaction is within the predetermined time periodfrom the purchase of the product or service, generating and transmittinga data file based on the difference between the lowest price datum andthe purchase price that initiates a payment to the customer.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said purchaseinformation further comprises information selected from the groupconsisting of a date of purchase, a retailer name, a retailer location,a retailer phone number, a product serial number, a product UPC code,and a product model number.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim1 further comprising updating, by the server, the lowest price datum. 4.The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the updating occursat predetermined intervals.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim3, wherein the updating comprises: comparing the lowest price datum to asecond price datum obtained from an external source; if the second pricedatum is less than the lowest price datum, setting the lowest pricedatum equal to the second price datum.
 6. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 5, wherein the external source is an advertisement. 7.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein receiving thepurchased product or service description comprises: receiving, by theserver, a data file generated by a merchant server that comprises anidentification of a product or service, the an identifier of thefinancial customer's credit or debit card issued by the financialinstitution and used in the purchase, and a date of the purchase; andassociating, by the server, the received information in the data filewith a record in the first database associated with the customer.
 8. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein receiving the purchasedproduct or service description comprises: receiving, by the server froman electronic device of the customer, a data file comprising an image ofa receipt for the purchase; and associating, by the server, receiptinformation from the receipt with a record in the first databaseassociated with the customer.
 9. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 8, further comprising extracting, by the server, the receiptinformation from the image of the receipt.
 10. A system comprising: aserver of a financial institution adapted to receive purchaseinformation regarding a customer who completed the transaction with anymerchant, wherein the purchase information comprises a purchase priceand purchased product or service description of the purchased product orservice and an identifier of the financial institution's customer'scredit or debit card issued by the financial institution; a firstdatabase communicatively coupled to the server and adapted to store thepurchase information from a completed product purchase transaction; anda second database communicatively coupled to the server and adapted tostore product or service information, wherein the product informationcomprises a lowest price datum; wherein the server tracks the product orservice information from the second database corresponding to thepurchase information located at the first database within apredetermined time period from the purchase of the product or service,and wherein the server compares the lowest price datum to the purchaseprice, and wherein the server generates and transmits a data file basedon the difference between the lowest price datum and the purchase pricefor the customer when the lowest price is less than the purchase pricewithin the predetermined time period from the purchase of the product orservice, wherein the data file initiates a payment to the customer. 11.The system of claim 10, further comprising a third databasecommunicatively coupled to the server and adapted to store personalinformation.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the server is furtherconfigured to receive a data file generated by a merchant server thatcomprises an identification of a product or service, the an identifierof the financial customer's credit or debit card issued by the financialinstitution and used in the purchase, and a date of the purchase, andassociate the received information in the data file with a record in thefirst database associated with the customer.
 13. The system of claim 10,wherein the server is further configured to receive a data file from anelectronic device of the customer comprising an image of a receipt forthe purchase, and associate receipt information from the receipt with arecord in the first database associated with the customer.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein the server is further configured to extractthe receipt information from the image of the receipt.
 15. A computerprogram product, comprising a computer usable medium having computerreadable program code embodied therein, the computer readable programcode adapted to be executed by a processor to implement a methodcomprising: receiving, by a customer identification module of theprogram code executed by the processor of a financial institution,information input that identifies a customer; receiving, by a productidentification module of the program code executed by the processor ofthe financial institution, a description of a product or servicepurchased by the customer, wherein the information input that identifiesthe customer and the description of the product or service purchased bythe customer involve a transaction with any merchant to purchase theproduct or service using a credit or debit card was issued by afinancial institution; identifying, by the price identification moduleof the program code executed by the processor, available prices for theproduct or service within a predetermined time period; identifying, bythe price identification module of the program code executed by theprocessor, a lower price for the purchased product or service from theavailable prices within the predetermine time period; and generating andtransmitting, by a claim submission module of the program code executedby the processor, a data file initiating a payment to the customer witha refund based upon the lower price identified within the predeterminedtime period.
 16. The computer program product of claim 15, whereinreceiving the description of the purchased product or service comprises:receiving, by the product identification module of the program codeexecuted by the processor, a data file generated by a merchant serverthat comprises an identification of a product or service, the anidentifier of the financial customer's credit or debit card issued bythe financial institution and used in the purchase, and a date of thepurchase; and associating, by the product identification module of theprogram code executed by the processor, the received information in thedata file with a record in the first database associated with thecustomer.
 17. The computer program product of claim 15, whereinreceiving the description of the purchased product or service comprises:receiving, by the product identification module of the program codeexecuted by the processor from an electronic device of the customer, adata file comprising an image of a receipt for the purchase; andassociating, by the server, receipt information from the receipt with arecord in the first database associated with the customer.
 18. Thecomputer program product of claim 17, further comprising extracting, bythe product identification module of the program code executed by theprocessor from an electronic device of the customer, the receiptinformation from the image of the receipt.
 19. The computer programproduct of claim 15, further comprising comparing, by the productidentification module of the program code executed by the processor, thedescription of the product or service to a listing of descriptions ofproducts or services to identify the product or service.
 20. A computerprogram product, comprising a computer usable medium having computerreadable program code embodied therein, the computer readable programcode adapted to be executed by a processor to implement a methodcomprising: receiving, by a customer identification module of theprogram code executed by the processor of a financial institution,information input that identifies a customer; receiving, by a productidentification module of the program code executed by the processor ofthe financial institution, a product description of a product or servicefrom a cellular phone of the customer, wherein the information inputthat identifies the customer and the description of the product orservice purchased by the customer involve a transaction with anymerchant to purchase the product or service using a credit or debit cardwas issued by a financial institution; identifying, by the productidentification module of the program code executed by the processor, theproduct based on the product or service description; identifying, by theprice identification module of the program code executed by theprocessor, available prices for the identified product or service withina predetermined time period; identifying, by the price identificationmodule of the program code executed by the processor, a lower price forthe purchased product or service; and generating, by a claim submissionmodule of the program code executed by the processor, a data fileinitiating a payment to the customer with a refund based upon the lowerprice identified during the predetermined time period.
 21. The computerprogram product according to claim 20, wherein receiving the productdescription of the product or service from the cellular phone of thecustomer comprises obtaining the product or service description basedupon a data file transmitted from the cellular phone that scanned orcaptured a bar code of the product or service.
 22. The computer programproduct according to claim 20, wherein receiving the description of thepurchased product or service comprises: receiving, by the productidentification module of the program code executed by the processor fromthe cellular phone of the customer, a data file comprising an image of areceipt for the purchase; and associating, by the server, receiptinformation from the receipt with a record in the first databaseassociated with the customer.
 23. The computer program product accordingto claim 22, further comprising extracting, by the productidentification module of the program code executed by the processor fromthe cellular phone of the customer, the receipt information from theimage of the receipt.
 24. The computer program product according toclaim 22, wherein the data file comprising the image of the receiptfurther comprises data representing receipt information.